I started Davinci in agility this summer well all is going well he loves the Aframe the dog walk and the jumps the shoot is his favorite. He will do the tunnels but here is the problem he only goes in on the right side if you are facing the tunnel. I can not get him to go in the on the left!!!!!! What do I do??? The instructor doesn't have any suggestions for me. So I'm hoping one of you guys can help. I don't have a tunnel at home too much $$$.

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People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built.

I started Davinci in agility this summer well all is going well he loves the Aframe the dog walk and the jumps the shoot is his favorite. He will do the tunnels but here is the problem he only goes in on the right side if you are facing the tunnel. I can not get him to go in the on the left!!!!!! What do I do??? The instructor doesn't have any suggestions for me. So I'm hoping one of you guys can help. I don't have a tunnel at home too much $$$.

Not enough info................is the tunnel straight or curved? Do you mean when he is on your left he wont do the tunnel?

He does all the other stuff just fine. I can send up the Aframe on either side the dog walk from either end. We do jumps on both sides. He doesn't like the tunnel on the left. By left I mean when you are standing in front of the tunnel and it is your left side. Yes the tunnel is curved. He goes in either end when it is straight. DaVinci doesn't like whee or rick either in freestlye dance. It doesn't make much sence to me.

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People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built.

Physical issues come to mine - I have no idea what whee or rick are, but are they movements that require the dog to bend to the right? Will he do something like a pinwheel of jumps on your left, where he would have to bend his body similarly to the shape of the tunnel?

I would take him back to square one by teaching a curved tunnel again, with you on his left. Also be very aware of your body language, you should be traveling in a slightly merging path with the tunnel and making sure you turn your feet, knees, hips, shoulders towards the entrance, also be looking at the entrance and not your dog. As for a hand signal point to the tunnel and not your dog. If and when he starts doing it make sure he is committed to going into the tunnel before you stop supporting the entrance with your body language.
Start by only sligthly curving the tunnel on the entrance end and with the tunnel shorten to the max. The tunnel should be so short and with only the first two ribs turned, he should be able to see out the other end. You can also put a target on the exit side and when he does it successfully, say Yes or click and putting a reward on the target (or if its a bait bag, open the bag and reward. Then you curve the exit end by a rib or two, slowly increase the degree of curve on both ends and slowly make the tunnel longer. If he stops going in again, take him back to the point where he was successful.
I am curious when you trained the tunnel did you train it from both sides and from all angles as it was slowly curved? And did you also train both ends?

What colour is the tunnel? Dogs that are not Hoovers for the tunnel often don't like a darker coloured tunnel. I start all dogs on my orange tunnel, its much brighter inside than my green tunnel. Once the dogs are fine with the orange tunnel, we train the green one because I don't assume that the dogs will automatically do the darker tunnel, so we start at the very being.

Don't forget just because a dog can do an obstacle from one direction or one side, you can't assume the dog will do the other end or from a different direction. It becomes a whole new obstacle or sequence to the dog, therefore it has to be trained every possible way, which means from the very beginning. The goal is to have the dog always successful and to not have holes in the training, which often leads the dog not to be successful.

If he will do the chute, I would expect it isn't a sight issue and if he will jump and turn to the left, I would expect it not to be a lameness issue.

At class we have one green tunnel, one purple tunnel and one red tunnel. That is way I wanted help is because he does do all the other obstacle from both sides he just puts on the brake at goig in the left side of a tunnel. Actually the instructure started the tunnels out straight had the dogs run though them a few times then he curved them a lot with the tunnel bieng fully extented. DaVinci just balked at the green tunnel when it was on his left side that he needed to go in. I don't think it was the course but it was really advanced we had three jumps then the A frame, a tunnel, a jump, weave poles, tire jump, tunnel going in on the left, pause table, tunnel going in on the left, dog walk, jump, tunnel, double jump, tunnel going in on the left, tire jump and jump.

For those that don't know Whee and rick are circle moves that are counter clock wise.

__________________

People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built.

At class we have one green tunnel, one purple tunnel and one red tunnel. That is way I wanted help is because he does do all the other obstacle from both sides he just puts on the brake at goig in the left side of a tunnel. Actually the instructure started the tunnels out straight had the dogs run though them a few times then he curved them a lot with the tunnel bieng fully extented. DaVinci just balked at the green tunnel when it was on his left side that he needed to go in. I don't think it was the course but it was really advanced we had three jumps then the A frame, a tunnel, a jump, weave poles, tire jump, tunnel going in on the left, pause table, tunnel going in on the left, dog walk, jump, tunnel, double jump, tunnel going in on the left, tire jump and jump.

For those that don't know Whee and rick are circle moves that are counter clock wise.

In my opinion, doing a tunnel a few times then going to full length and curving it a lot is an completely unrealistic expectation of your instructor and they are taking short cuts, therefore creating holes in the training. Which in turn doesn't allow you and your dog to be completely successful.

I have to question the knowledge and the experience of your instuctor, because doing as I suggested (shortening and slowly curving the tunnel ) should have been the first thing they did, especially when a problem came up.

Were are you? I have never heard the terms Whee and Rick here in N.A, anyone else???